Medford High football beats North Quincy in season opener

Xavier Gibson scored a pair of touchdowns, including an 85-yard kickoff return in the opening seconds, as the Medford High football team clipped North Quincy, 12-8 Sept. 6 at Hormel Stadium.

The win was a milestone moment for Medford marking its first victory in nearly two seasons, and first home win since 2009.

By Christopher Hurley /churley@wickedlocal.com

Wicked Local

By Christopher Hurley /churley@wickedlocal.com

Posted Sep. 7, 2013 at 12:01 AM
Updated Sep 7, 2013 at 7:04 AM

By Christopher Hurley /churley@wickedlocal.com

Posted Sep. 7, 2013 at 12:01 AM
Updated Sep 7, 2013 at 7:04 AM

Medford

» Social News

X marked the spot for the Mustangs, Friday night.

Xavier Gibson scored a pair of touchdowns, including an 85-yard kickoff return in the opening seconds, as the Medford High football team clipped North Quincy,12-8 Sept. 6 at Hormel Stadium.

The win was a milestone moment for Medford marking its first victory in nearly two seasons, and first home win since 2009.

“It feels great,” said Gibson. “I’m glad the program could turn it around. I’m just so happy right now. I don’t know what to do with myself.”

The victory was exactly what Medford Coach Jason Nascimento and his club were searching for, especially coming off a nightmarish 0-10 season in 2012.

“This win was huge,” Nascimento said. “We wanted to start the season off on the right foot and get a lot of momentum. Hopefully we don’t get complacent, because we have another good match-up next week against a very good Revere team. So we’re back to work tomorrow morning.”

Gibson and his team didn’t waste anytime getting the crowd behind them. The 5-foot-10, 160-pound running back fielded a Matt Donovan kick before bolting down the length of the field on the TD return, just 12 seconds into the contest.

“To be honest I blacked out and just went for it,” Gibson said. “I just hit it hard, like coach always tells me to do. I was ready.”

According to Nascimento practice made perfect in the special team's department.

“That’s something we really worked on a lot in camp,” Nascimento said. “In the past we made a lot of mistakes on special teams. We wanted to clean that up and it showed on the field tonight. They did a great job.”

North Quincy battled back on the following series. Fueled by the hustle of Antonie Allen (15-for-76 rushing) and Eddie Guinto (18-for-71 rushing), the pair traded off on a half dozen carries, culminating with Guinto’s 1-yard gainer to tie it. And when quarterback Joe Fallon found Zach Dangora on the ensuing two-point conversion, North Quincy held the 8-6 advantage.

Meanwhile, Medford quarterback Reggie Thelemaque maintained the tempo for the Mustangs rushing for a game-high 101-yards on 15 carries.

Medford’s defense was also surprisingly stingy. Quad-captain Tyler McLean, along with Anthony DeRiezo, Corey Moore and Zack Conway, did the necessary grunt work to keep North Quincy off the scoreboard.

All Medford needed was an opportunity to strike. And they got just that midway through the fourth quarter. A botched punt attempt by was recovered by Medford’s Matt Sullivan, giving the Mustangs the pigskin just outside the red zone.

That was all Gibson (9-for-48 rushing) would need as he galloped into the end zone on the six-yard strike to seal the victory with 1:52 left in the game.

Page 2 of 2 - “I was just doing what I could do to make the team better,” said Gibson, on his winning drive. “I was so glad to hear the crowd. You should hear my teammates yelling back [inside the locker room]. Mustang Pride is in my blood right now.”

According to North Quincy Coach Mark Nutley, a couple mistakes proved costly.

“We cost ourselves [the game],” said Nutley. “We kept moving the ball, but we found a way to kill ourselves, either on a penalty here, or a block on the back on a big first down there. It was little tiny things that killed us all day.”

Nascimento was pleased with how everything developed.

“X did a fantastic job running the football and played well on defense too, but those guys up front [on our line] also did a fantastic job getting out there.” Nascimento said. “Those guys deserve all the credit in the world. Coach [Craig] Dragschke does a fantastic job with that offensive line. They’re really undersized and inexperienced, but they proved a lot tonight.”

The Medford coach hopes this is the start of something good in Mustangs country.

“The beautiful thing was seeing the entire community out here tonight,” Nascimento said. “The band was doing a fantastic job and it was just a community effort. Hopefully everyone is buying into the program. These kids are very excited about playing football in Medford again. Hopefully this thing turns around. I’m very excited.”